Along with malachite, Lapis Lazuli is one of the first treasured stones of human kind, and has been mined for over 7,000 years. Its name stems from the Latin word "lapis" meaning stone and from the Arabic word "azula" meaning blue. This treasured blue stone can be found throughout many ancient civilizations. Before a synthetic substitute was created, it was often ground and used as a pigment, making blue paint, "Ultramarine" the most expensive and valuable paint available. For this reason, blue paint was most often reserved for royalty and holy figures such as the Madonna. Much of the worlds Lapis Lazuli is mined from mountains in northern Afghanistan.

These Vintage Venetian Seed Beads were manufactured between the late 1800's and 1920's and are an exquisite example of fine Venetian craftsmanship. We've bought up oodles of amazing hand-crafted vintage Murano glass beads crafted by Societa Veneziana Conterie. Societa Veneziana Conterie was a consortium of 16 independent Venetian bead makers that joined together from 1898-1992. This lot of beads was manufactured between the late 1800's and early 1920's. Many of the glass canes used in the manufacture of these beads date back much further than the formation of the consortium.Due to the HAND-CRAFTED nature of our vintage selections, certain variances in shape, size, and uniformity are to be expected and embraced.